The Stowaway
by Narnian at Heart
Summary: Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace are brought aboard the Dawn Treader. Eustace discovers a secret about one of the crew members and is forced to keep a secret from King Caspian. Changed from Caspian/OC to Eustace/OC, NON SLASH because that's nasty...
1. Man Overboard!

**So I know a few of you were telling me I should do a story about Caspian and I thought…HECK YES! So I'm gonna branch out a bit and try a new character on for size!**

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I braced myself as my blade and the blade of my adversary clashed together and then I sidestepped quickly, making him tumble forward. With a loud "oof" he landed flat on his face on the deck, my sword pressed firmly to his back. Cheers erupted from the crowd that had gathered around us and the man whom I had moments ago been fighting against laughed. I reached down a hand to help him rise to his feet and we patted each other on the back and claimed it was a good spar.

This was how life was on the _Dawn Treader_. We had little else to do besides keep on course (which was the navigator on duty's job), keep the provisions in good condition (galley workers' jobs), and to keep an eye out for obstacles or land (the job of the individual in the crow's nest) and so we found ourselves sparring to pass the time.

I made my way through the small crowd gathered on deck and smiled at their "way to show hims" and  
"well dones". I went up the stairs above my cabin and stood on the deck with my first mate, Drinian as he kept the ship on course at the wheel.

"How far until we reach the Lone Islands?" I asked as I looked out over the vast blue expanse of the sea.

"It'll be a few more days, Your Majesty," Drinian said, his tone sounding very bored. "Not a bit of land in sight since we left Galma."

I sighed. It was too true. We had stopped on the island of Galma to seek volunteers for our journey and since we had left it had been nothing but sea on all sides. I was beginning to feel a yearning to step on dry ground again.

"Very well," I sighed, "Steady on."

I went back down onto the deck and leaned onto the rail to watch the ripples the passage of the ship was causing as we skimmed along. I heard the sounds of the men chattering, the splash of water on the ship's sides, Reepicheep singing from dragon's head on the front of the _Dawn Treader,_ and footsteps approaching me.

I turned to see one of the young soldiers we had picked up in Galma lean on the rail next to me.

"What do you think?" I asked, motioning out at the wide blue horizon.

"Lovely," was the reply, "Never gone this way before."

"Never been to the Lone Islands?" I asked in awe.

"And have you?" I felt a bit small at that statement because, indeed, I had never actually been to the Lone Islands within my three year reign. I simply hadn't had time!

"No," I admitted, my eyes dropping back to the ripples below, "No this will be my first time seeing them."

The young man nodded and then left me to get back to…whatever he HAD been doing, leaving me in my thoughts. They wandered back to Cair Paravel and I wondered how Trumpkin was handling things back there. I had every confidence in him, but he did have a habit of taking a bit too much wine now and again. I grinned and scuffed the deck with my boot. My mind went over my three years as the king of Narnia and I let my imagination take me back over the adventures I had already been on and wondered if the adventure I was on now would be one I could put in a book someday…

"MAN OVERBOARD!" My head snapped up and I ran to where several people were looking over the edge of the ship. Three figures were splashing about in the sea on our port side. I motioned for two men to follow my lead and I dove off the side of the ship into the water. I swam for the closest figure to me and grabbed the person around the waist with one arm while I kept myself afloat and steady with the other.

"It's all right," I said encouragingly, "I've got you."

"Caspian!" the cheery voice was so familiar and I took a good look at the face of the person I was holding onto.

"Lucy!" I was pleasantly surprised!

"Edmund! It's Caspian!" Lucy called out. So Edmund was here as well? Fantastic!

"We're in Narnia?" Edmund asked, his voice sounded excited.

"Yes," I chuckled, "You're in Narnia!"

Someone, I noticed, was screaming something about British Consoles, England, and mothers. But I simply ignored it and grabbed the rope that one of my crew had just thrown me. I was so glad to see my two old friends that I was eager to get them aboard the _Dawn Treader_ and catch up on old times!

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**Ok so there's the start! There is going to be a twist in this story soon so keep reading =)**

**Although there isn't much to it yet, let me know if you like it so far!**


	2. A Discovery

**So I know I followed the dialogue from the movie in the previous chapter but I'm gonna start my own dialogue from here so it will neither book nor movie =) Just because.**

**Here's the next chapter!**

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CASPIAN'S POV

My goodness but Edmund and Lucy sure had changed in the short three years since I had last seen them!

Edmund had grown much taller, his shoulders were broader and his voice was much deeper, his eyes held even more wisdom than when I had seen him considering battle tactics in Aslan's How and I admired how he always seemed to look in control of himself so well.

Lucy had changed even more drastically! Her hair was much longer and she had gotten taller as well. Her little girlish body had begun to change into that of a woman and I noticed that she still hadn't quite gotten use to the fact that she was changing. I tried not to think about the ways she was becoming a woman but it was hard to ignore the way her hips had widened and her chest had taken on a shape. I was shocked when Edmund told me it had actually only been a year in their world since they had left. So much change in so little time!

As for this newcomer who was with them, I was not impressed. He was small and scrawny and I wondered vaguely if he ever ate anything much at all. He had no muscles and was clumsy as an ox in a rowboat and kept tripping over ropes and swaying as the boat rocked with the waves, he had apparently not been on a ship before. But the worst thing about him was the sour expression on his face and the loud, rude words that were coming out of his mouth.

"I DEMAND to be released this instant!" he screamed, "I will not be treated like this! I will not be taken captive on this barge!"

I saw Edmund roll his eyes with a bitter expression and I pitied him for having to put up with this relative of his.

"Tavros," I said quietly to the Minotaur next to me, "Please show this young…man…to his quarters. Put him in my cabin I suppose as he looks a bit green."

"But, Your Majesty…"Tavros hesitated.

"Please, Tavros," I pinched the bridge of my nose, "I can't take much more of his squealing."

Tavros nodded and approached the squalling boy. As soon as he turned and saw the Minotaur, his eyes rolled back and he hit the deck in a dead faint. The crew erupted in laughter but I felt for the boy because, after all, being pulled into an entirely new world against your will must be traumatizing! I, however, would love to go to Edmund and Lucy's world for even a day just to see how they lived! Tavros sighed heavily and picked the boy up effortlessly then disappeared into my cabin.

"Now, Edmund and Lucy," I clapped my hands together and smiled at them, "Shall I give you a tour of this fine Narnian ship?"

"Oh please do, Caspian!" Lucy grinned widely. I never pictured Lucy being a person who would care at all about ships but I was pleased to hear their eagerness to learn about the _Dawn Treader_. So I excitedly began to tell them all about her and what our mission was about.

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EUSTACE'S POV

What a miserable piece of driftwood this boat was! This room I had been given had a dreadfully low ceiling, the bed was lumpy, the pictures on the walls were strange and dull and the view was horrible because all you could see were waves and I was already sick enough! I sat on the horrible bed and held on to my knees to try and settle my churning stomach but it didn't seem to be helping at all and my disposition was becoming less than charming.

The door opened and I glanced over at it. One of those sea rat crewmembers came in and said he had been ordered to askif I needed anything.

"Not unless you can get me back to dry land immediately," I mumbled angrily. But, of course, this simple fool couldn't help me get back to England because his dreadful captain wouldn't turn this heap around.

"I'm afraid not," the crewman said, "But the _Dawn Treader _is the finest ship in Narnia's entire navy!"

"Well _Narnia _needs to do some serious upgrading!" I snapped, putting a disgusted emphasis on the name of this so-called country of Narnia. "If this tub is the best they have to offer…"

"The _Splendour Hyaline _is the pride of the Narnian ships," the crewman replied, not seeming to be shaken by my animosity, "But it's the King's ship for when he pays visits to our allies or goes to counsels with our possible enemies. She's much slower than the _Dawn Treader_ but much more grand."

"I'm pretty sure any ship would be better than this," I said smugly, "The worst ship in the British Navy would blow this thing out of the water."

The crewman was silent and I finally took a good look at him. He was short, no taller than me and I assumed he must be pretty young. He stood just within the doorway and was looking at me with amusement. I noticed choppy blonde hair sticking out from under his hat and bright blue eyes that were studying me intently.

"Have you looked at these murals on the walls?" he asked finally, moving toward the wall on the left. He stood looking at the painting of four people on horses in some dirty old woods.

"I've had no choice but to sit here and stare at them for lack of anything more interesting," I replied, not caring in the least.

"I've dreamt of meeting the Kings and Queens of old," the crewman stated randomly, I suppose he was trying to make conversation but I was in no mood to talk. "Do you know the stories they tell of them? That they show up when Narnia is in its deepest need? How they come and go at the will of Aslan?"

"No and I honestly don't believe any of this," I snapped, "This is all a dream brought on by some poorly digested food. Stupid war is making it hard to get anything worth eating."

The crew man ignored me and continued to stare at the painting. I didn't want to admit it, but the way he stared at it made me think the story behind it must be something unique.

"Oh fine," I huffed, "You may as well tell me of these poor fools on that wall."

The crewman turned to me and looked utterly confused.

"Do you not recognize them?" he asked, "Come, take a closer look."

I sighed heavily and stumbled slightly as I stood. Blast this unsteady piece of driftwood! But OI managed to make it across the room and looked closer at the people in the painting. They all had a slight familiarity about them but I didn't see what the young man meant at all.

"I don't know any royalty," I mumbled, annoyed that I had made this trip over to the wall for nothing.

The crewman chuckled and pointed at the dark haired man in the painting who was riding on a brown horse.

"This is King Edmund the Just of Narnia," he stated and his finger moved to the girl behind the man, "And that is Queen Lucy the Valiant. This is a painting replicating an event that occurred over two thousand years ago."

"Funny that they have the same names as my cousins," I muttered.

"Why do you think we were so excited to see them?" the crewman said quietly.

I looked at him in shock.

"Are you crazy?" I laughed, "Are you saying those people are my two worthless cousins? They couldn't rule over a whipped dog! And, sorry to burst your bubble, but they definitely aren't two thousand years old."

The crewman just smiled and shook his head.

"You will see," he said cryptically, "I'm sure you have some big adventures ahead of you."

Then, just like that, he walked back out of the room and shut the door behind him.

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Lucy's face peeked around the door of the cabin and I moaned as she walked over to the bed. I didn't want her to be there and I DEFINITELY didn't want Edmund and that other man to come anywhere near me, but they did.

"Eustace," Lucy said sternly, "Take a drop of this."

She held out a bottle of red liquid ad I pushed it away. I would NOT put any foreign substance in my body without it being prescribed by a physician.

"Eustace," Edmund snapped, his eyes narrowed dangerously, "Drink. The. Cordial."

I sneered at him but accepted a drop of the nasty stuff. I didn't admit it…but it wasn't so nasty as all that actually and I immediately began to feel less queasy.

"What are you all doing in here? Come to make me miserable?" I groaned.

"We just came to give you that to help you feel better and to tell you to come to the deck for dinner when you're ready," the man that Lucy called Caspian said. What a ridiculous name!

"Why didn't you just send that crew member you sent before to tell me?" I said with a frown. At least he had been quiet and non demanding.

"What crew member?" Caspian asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I don't know his name!" I snapped shortly, "But he said you sent him to check on me and see if I needed anything."

"I did no such thing!" Caspian replied, looking alarmed. "What did he look like?"

I described him and felt annoyed that Caspian was so disorganized that he didn't even remember his own orders. Some captain he was!

"I have no one of that description on my crew," Caspian stated, looking at my cousin Edmund in shock.

"Maybe I just imagined it all in my fevered condition," I muttered, "Fever can cause delusion."

They all looked at me with cocked eyebrows and then turned to leave.

"He's doing it for attention," I heard Edmund mutter just before the door closed.

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I was starving! Somehow, I had slept through the supper they had on the deck. Brutes didn't even have the decency to wake me up! So I was now creeping along the wall of the belly of this stupid boat looking for any kind of food. One particularly violent wave knocked me off balance and I stumbled through a door and I smacked into something not quite solid.

"Ow!" someone yelped. I guessed I had run into a person.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, not really feeling sorry at all.

"You should be!" the voice said and I heard a match being struck and a lantern suddenly sprang to life.

I gasped at the face that came into view as the light spread through the room. It was the crewman I thought I had imagined! But this time I noticed something I had failed to notice before…

"You! You're a…GIRL!"

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**WWWHHHHAAAATTTT? Who is this girl? Why is she hiding in the galley? Why is she even talking to Eustace? Keep reading to find out!**

**Reviews rock my face off!**


	3. If I Felt Better I Would Do Something

**HI READERS! Man, it's been a crazy long time! I am so sorry I haven't written lately, but life has been CRAZY! I have a new baby niece, I made it into the Nursing program at school, I'm three weeks into P90X, my father was just diagnosed as clinically depressed, and I'm raising money to go to New York City! Wheeew, busy bee!**

**So, I'm going to write this and see if my plot comes back to my mind because I totally forgot where I was going with this! :D**

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"Shut up, you fool!" the girl hissed and she clamped her filthy hand over my mouth. I tried to back away and call for my cousin to come and handle this ruffian, but I was weakened by my illness and so I gave up and crossed my arms so she would know I was not intimidated by a silly girl!

She looked behind me and reached back to close the door. Then she grabbed my arm like a bully and yanked me into a sit on a crate in a shaft of moonlight.

"What are you doing down in the galley at this time of night!" she asked angrily.

"I might ask you the very same thing!" I snapped, in no mood to be pushed about. "How dare you accuse me of anything when you're sneaking about down here at the very same time as I am?"

"I was not SNEAKING," the girl growled at me, "I was doing my duty and guarding the stores."

Of course I admit I didn't know anything about how these horrible old ships worked so I shut my mouth and sat there looking off into the darkness.

"Then how come when I asked that "king" guy who you were he had no record of a girl on board other than my cousin?" I suddenly remembered the earlier part of the day and I was curious in spite of myself.

The girl didn't answer right away, she paused in her shuffling pace across the floor and looked at me in a rather peculiar manner.

"If you MUST know," she mumbled, "I'm…not counted among the crew,"

"You're a stowaway!" I fairly shouted. She clamped a rough hand over my mouth again and I found myself wondering how her hands were so calloused. It nauseated me to think of the work one would have to do to gain such hands as hers!

"Hush, you little worm!" she said, venom dripping from her voice, "You could not possibly understand my purpose for being aboard. I don't even believe you have any more right to be aboard than I! Now, if I hear you say on word of me to the captain, your cousins, or ANY of the crew I will throw you overboard in a storm before you even know what hit you!"

Normally I would not allow myself to be bullied into anything, but it would appear I would have no support from the others, especially not my rotten cousins or that young…captain. So I felt I had no other choice but to bitterly sign onto an agreement of confidence. She spit in her hand and forced me to spit in mine and then clasped my hand with her germ covered one and shook it with the force of a soldier. How horrible these Narnians are!

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I was awoken the next morning at the most ungodly hour! The sun was just above the water when Lucy shook me awake and told me in an annoyingly cheerful voice that land had been sighted and we were going ashore. Peachy, another disgusting culture with disgusting rituals…

But I pulled myself out of bed and dressed quickly. As I emerged onto the deck I caught sight of that girl from the previous day looking out toward the speck of land in the distance and she looked sickeningly happy. I wanted to push her over the side.

I made a face and nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I spun around to come face to face with that Caspian fellow. He was looking at me nervously.

"I've decided you will accompany your cousins and I to the shore," he said firmly, "But I must have your word that you will not be a nuisance while we are there. You must also agree to follow my every command even if you do not like them. Are we understood?"

I nodded my head merely to humour him because I knew he would only hound me until I said I would anyway. He clapped my shoulder and smiled and then went to help lower the rowboats. Rowboats…so medieval .

"Eustace," Lucy said as she came to stand next to me and watch the preparations being made to get to the shore. "I know that this pull into Narnia has been quite a shock to you, it was for all of us the first time, but Narnia can either be a blessing or a burden depending on your attitude. I hope you see why we love Narnia and I hope you come to love it too."

"Don't count on it," I mumbled darkly, crossing my arms once again. Mother always said it made one have an air of decidedness about them.

My cousin gave me a look and then marched off to her cabin, leaving me standing in the middle of the deck looking quite the fool. But I was not alone for long because the cleverly disguised stowaway girl walked cautiously over after checking to see that everyone was distracted with work to be done.

"Why are YOU coming ashore!" she asked, obviously not pleased.

"Because the captain asked me to come," I replied, raising my nose slightly.

"Do you even know the first thing about how to handle yourself around other cultures? Around people in authority? In a fight?"

"A fight?" honestly that was all I had heard from her tirade.

"One can never be sure," she replied simply, "And one should always be prepared for the worst!"

"Well I'm a pacifist and I've never held a weapon in my life!"

"You're a fool is what you are," the girl snapped. "But we would all be better off if you got killed anyway. You just keep doing exactly what you're doing and eventually everyone will be happy. You won't have to deal with Narnia anymore and Narnia won't have to deal with you. Everyone wins."

I watched her back as she walked away and stuck out my tongue at her. It was all I could for now because I was still feeling wiped out from my illness…besides, she wasn't worth my time.

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**Writing from Eustace's POV is really fun xD You get to use sarcasm and winey complaints! So, I'm back and I'll try to get things rolling again! This story and my other so keep checking, I'll try to keep writing!**

**Peace!**


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